Possession

The demon's hold is strong; it may be too late to save this man if I cannot break its power over his body. - Luminary During a Exorcism

There are some cases when an otherworldly being attempts to become active in the world. However, they cannot do so as they need a body if they are not powerful enough. This is where one of these beings forces its way into a person's body in a way that suits their needs. When this happens, the Possessed person will try to fight the possession.

Transmission & Vectors

Possessions do not show themselves until they want to, often when signs of vulnerability are shown with the selected host. Sometimes, a host is willing to become processed to gain power by summoning the creature in question.

Causes

Possessions occur when an otherworld entity wants a body to gain access to the physical world. Forcing their way into them as they try to take control. Weakening their will until they completely take over and have power over their body.

Symptoms

There are two types of possession, spiritual and demonic; while they may be similar, the effects of possessing a person are completely different. Spiritual possessions are not all wick as most believe, as a Spirits may be trying to communicate with people to try and pass on to the afterlife. Demons, however, will away mean harm and must be removed before they get their way.

Spiritual Possession

Cold to Touch: The skin of the possessed will lack any warmth as spirits have no heat as they are not living and trying to get used to the body they are trying to take over.
Moving Objects: Objects around the possessed will begin to float in the air and be knocked around. Sudden winds may also occur that will move things around the room.
Spirit's Voice: The Spirit will begin to talk through the possessed, demanding of pleading its desire to all around them and the one they possess out of pain or anger.

Demonic Possession

Convulsing: The body fighting the Demon convulses violently and will continue to do so multiple times between rests.
Foreign Language: Possessed will be to speak in an understandable language, often demonic or another language the demon knows. They will often speak backward to hide their intentions from those around them.
Demonic Powers: Powers of demons such as fire and thought reading would begin to show, affecting the people around them and the environment.

Treatment

Exorcism: Often involving a priest with the power of their god to use their holy power that can banish the being from the possessed using holy texts, items, and Divine Magic that these creatures of dark intentions are weak against.
Cleansing Ritual : When a priest is unavailable, magic is the next best option to remove a possession, often through a magic ritual that has the power to weaken or destroy the creature hosted inside the possessed.
Near Death Experience : When no other worldly powers are available to save the possessed, a sure way to eliminate any creature is to almost kill them and place them at death's doorstep. In doing this, the creature will leave the body knowing that if its host dies, it dies or will be sent back to where it came from. However, the host may die if it is taken too far with the creature gone either way.

Prognosis

Once a person loses their fight within their mind with the creature trying to possess them, that creature will have complete control over their body and can do what they will with it. The amount of time this takes depends on the host and if they are will it can happen instantly.

Prevention

Wards of Cleansing: Magic and holy items that can prevent the possibility of being possessed as the power they have to repel any creature that tries to do so. As long as this item is on their person, they will be safe from any creatures to possess them and only feel pain in trying.
Hollowed Ground: Ground that has been consecrated in the name of a god will, under its divine power, deny entry to certain types of creatures from entering their domain. This will most often be spirits of ill intent and demons as they do not belong there in a place meant for the living and the faithful.

History

Possessions from otherworldly beings have occurred for thousands of years as spirits and demons have existed since the world began. It is well-recorded, with ten of thousands of possessions being recorded and methods to eliminate the creatures responsible for them. Making it known by all those who practice magic and religious organizations to counteract them when they appear.

Cultural Reception

Possession has always been something to fear as the possibility of someone bringing a dark creature into the world that will harm them. Considering the options of saving a person, they try to expel the creature from the person as best they can. If they cannot do so, they will be killed to avoid any more incidents from occurring.

Type

Supernatural

Origin

Divine

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Rare

Affected Species

• Elves
• Humans
• Dwarves

Full Possessions

by Midjourney

When a person is possessed completely, they will lose all control of their body, and their consciousness will be locked away while the creature can roam around in their new body. Most will try to act like the person with whatever memories they can recover from their host to remain hidden from those around them. Those that blow deception to the wind will often go on a rampage and cause mayhem to those that get in their way. At this point, people will try to kill possessed to stop them from causing more destruction. Along with looking more monstrous, their eyes being completely black reveal that they are possessed. That does not mean the possessed is beyond saving, and with the proper means to imprison the possessed, they can have a ritual done on them to free them. Those that survive a possession will often have no memory of what has happened to them and be relatively fine afterward except fo a few scars left behind by the creature.

Mark of the Beyond

Those who survive a possession are never the same despite no physical alterations that happen to them once they are freed from their imprisonment of the creature that attempted it. They will often be more susceptible to the presence of the very creative and kind that once possessed them. It often starts as a feeling a first, and then there is a physical sign to it, such as a sudden chill or headaches that alters a person to the creature near them. This is why many groups are dedicated to hunting such creatures and recruiting those possessed as supernatural detectors, often called Marked One. Through them, many spirits and demons have been discovered and defeated by individuals who know of their presence no matter how hidden they are.